ANDY MURRAY CAPS RECORD-SETTING 2015 SEASON WITH BBC SPORTS PERSON OF THE YEAR AWARD

Posted On:
Sunday, May 1, 2016 12:05:43 PM Asia/Calcutta

by Delux Sports

HEAD's Andy Murray earned another honor for an outstanding 2015 season, with the leader of Britain's first Davis Cup championship team claiming the BBC Sports Person of the Year award for a second time. He won with an overwhelming 361,446 public votes in the annual competition, with the second-placed finisher receiving nearly 100,000 less. The 28-year-old Racquet Rebel held the award high at a televised ceremony in Belfast, Northern Ireland after flying in from training in Dubai.

The Scot ranked second on the ATP was the overwhelming favorite in fan voting for the award, which he also claimed in 2013 after winning an Olympic gold medal at the London Olympics a year earlier and earning the Wimbledon title in 2013. A month ago, Murray led Britain almost single-handedly to an historic first Davis Cup title in 79 years with a defeat of Belgium in Ghent.

“I have dedicated my life to this sport. I work as hard as I can every day to try to make you proud. And I appreciate all the votes',” Murray said in his acceptance speech, The player who endorses the HEAD Graphene XT Radical, won all three of his Davis matches in the final, capping a year in which he played the Australian Open final and reached the semis in Paris and Wimbledon. He also won four ATP trophies, including his first two on clay in Munich and in Madrid as he beat Rafael Nadal in the final of that elite Masters 1000 tournament.

Murray was part of a Davis Cup side which also included Kyle Edmund, James Ward and his brother, Jamie; the squad lifted Team of the Year honors in the BBC voting. After missing the ceremony two years ago when he won, Murray was able to fit it in due to scheduling. “I didn’t expect this. It’s very humbling to be up here in front of so many great athletes. I’m just a great sports fan and I’m really nervous. This has been a five-year journey – we were right down at the bottom level of tennis and now we’re ranked No 1 in the world. I never thought that would be possible,” he said of the Davis squad.

Murray heads to Australia as he awaits fatherhood, with his wife expecting a child in February. Murray's 2016 season starts January 3 when he joins with Heather Watson at the Hopman Cup in Perth before playing the Australian Open.